Could It Really Be Love?
by GrissomzGal
Summary: As much as it sounds it, this isn't a story completely centred around E/0 but it does hint at there being something there, and towards the end E/O becomes central.From Olivia's POV. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

I don't know if this will be any good, I don't normally write for SVU. The idea came to me while my friend was telling all about this thing she has for one of our teachers. The way she told it, it sounded pretty serious and not just any old crush. So I decided to write this. Though she isn't in THIS situation, but oh well. :-)

* * *

The call came in at around half 5 in the evening. It was from a worried mother, who had found out from her son that her daughter was involved with her Art teacher at school. 

Munch and Fin were already out on a case, so Elliot and I picked it up and headed round to the house in Queens. Naturally, Elliot got into the driver's seat. It was just what came naturally to us. I didn't mind though. It gave me a chance to sit back and prepare myself for what kind of horrors our next case would bring.

I didn't think this case should be so bad. Sure, it was illegal and really quite disgusting in my opinion, it should have been quite easy. We just needed to get either a confession, or to find some evidence in a classroom or the girl's house that there was a relationship going on. There shouldn't have been any carnage, or too much damage done to anyone. Or so I hoped.

I glanced round at my partner as we got stopped at lights. There was another reason that I didn't mind him driving. I got to study him, to really observe him. I think that he realised I would stare at him during every trip we made, but I don't think that he really minded, or I'm sure he would have said something. It was by doing this that I had first realised he had a bit of a temper. It had been a few months since I had started working with him, and now I think about it, it was really quite strange, but he hadn't lost it with anyone yet. There we were, in the car on the way to a scene, where some poor girl had been raped and then murdered, and taxi cab had cut right in-front of us, and nearly made us crash. Elliot had beeped the horn loudly and shouted something.

I had got a scare and jumped, but he'd apologised and given me one of those cheeky grins that very rarely graced his face. I think that might have been the moment I realised that I was attracted to him, because I had got a funny feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't stop smiling all the way to the scene, which was pretty weird considering what had happened to the girl and what we were going there to do.

At the house in Queenx, the flustered mother answered, and she ushered us inside. She sat us down on the couch, and we began to question her.

"So, um, Mrs...Kent, is it?" Elliot asked.

"Yes, yes," she nodded. "Anna Kent."

The woman was tall, about the same height as me. She had long, straight black hair, and a pair of very larger, very piercing blue eyes. She was slim, and she looked as if she had been rushed off her feet, although beneath the worry and exhaustion you could see that she was a good-looking woman.

"So, tell us what's going on Mrs Kent," I studied her as Elliot began to make some notes.

"Oh, hang on. I'll call my son down," the woman nodded. "Joshua!! Come down here!! There are detectives here about Megan!!"

There was some thumping feet, and a moment later, a tall, well-built young man came thundering down the stairs. He looked at the stage where he was about to start getting really tall and skinny and spotty, like your stereo-typical teenage boy. He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans, with ripped knees, a big hooded jumper, big clumpy shoes and a hat. He looked like skater-kid, like one of those kids that would almost run you over with his board and just laugh. For this very reason, I didn't paritcularly like him.

"What?" he asked.

"Joshua, this is Detectve Stabler and Detective Benson. They're here about Megan," she said. "Sit down."

The boy nodded and sat beside his mother, eyeing up the two strangers sitting opposite him.

"So, Joshua, why don't you tell us what you told your Mom," Elliot said.

He looked to his Mom, who nodded, so he sighed and began. "I was walking past Megan's room, when I heard her on the phone. She's usually talking to her best friend, Stephanie, so I listen in just to bug her. She wasn't talking to Stephanie this time, she was talking to someone different. I heard her say 'Fraser' a few times, and then I heard her tell him that she had to go, and then she came out beat me up. She must have heard me outside"

"Okay," Elliot nodded, glancing at me, letting out a soft sigh. I knew he was thinking the same thing as me. We were on the same wave-length 99.9 of the time, and I enjoyed that.

"Uh, Joshua, how can you be sure that she was talking to her teacher?"I asked warily. I thought that maybe this kid was lying, or twisting the truth just to get his sister into trouble, or to embarrass her, or just simply for a sick joke. I had seen many a kid brother try to do that.

"Well, he's called Fraser," Joshua shrugged. "And anyway, I already know she has a crush on him."

"Alright, Mrs Kent, what school does Megan go to?" Elliot looked at Mrs Kent.

"The same one as Joshua," she replied. "It's just a few blocks from here."

"Okay, well, we'll go and speak to Megan first, and then we'll speak to this teacher," I nodded. "What's his last name?"

"Uh, I'm not too sure," Joshua replied. "He only came here about a year ago. He's Scottish. I don't have him, so I don't know."

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I know this chapter is short and not very good, but it was just to establish things. Please read and review to tell me what you think. It will depend on the feedback I get if I continue for much longer or not. 


	2. Chapter 2

At Megan and Joshua's school, Elliot and I walked in to be greeted by an older woman. She seemed timid and fragile. She had grey, curly hair and watery blue eyes, and she sat behind a huge, mahogany desk that made her seem even smaller than she was.

"Hello there, welcome to the school. How may I help?" she asked with a thin smile.

"We're detectives from the Special Victims Unit," Elliot showed her his badge, as I showed her mine. "We're here about an issue with a student called Megan Kent?"

"Oh, such a nice girl," the receptionist smiled. "What's happened?"

"Well, I'm afraid we can't discuss that with you, Ma'am, but we'd like to ask you a few questions if that would be alright," I stated.

"Oh, yes, sure, anything to help the police," she nodded.

"Great. Would you be able to tell me which class Megan Kent is in at the moment?" I queried.

"Yes," the receptionist nodded, typing something into the computer, her fingers moving agonisingly slow. Elliot and I glanced at each other, giving one another a look of 'this may take a while'. We really could read each other like a book. That came with working together every day for years. It was one of the things I think we both enjoyed - not having to explain and talk to each other all the time. We could say so much with just one look. I guess that might have been a little weird to some people. We had this connection on a deeper level than most co-workers had.

As I got lost in my own little world, the woman continued to type, and then she waited for a moment before reading out, "She's in Art class with Mr Scott. Top floor, the door at the very end of the corridor."

Elliot and I looked at each other again. I fought the urge to slap him, as I knew that he wanted me to go and find the kid. He did that I lot - he probably did it just to bug me, knowing him.It wasn't obvious, but he consciously tried to annoy me with little things, and more often than not, it worked. Really well.

I nodded and stalked up to the classroom, walking into the class to see a man standing at the front of the room, speaking to the students in a deep, slightly gravelly, Scottish accent that seemed so out of place in this room. He was about 5ft 9, small for a man. He was quite slim, and was wearing a lilac shirt with dark purple tie. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and a good tan.

I thought he seemed like the kind of guy who you wouldn't be too shocked if he actually was persuing a relationship with a pupil. To me, the way he stood, the way he spoke, it just kind of oozed self-confidence. Too much self-confidence if you asked me. He knew that he was a good-looking guy, and he used that to play games with people. I had seen this type of man too much. At first, when I'd been younger, I used to enjoy getting wrapped up in their games. I used to let myself run away with my fantasies and let myself believe that they actually cared, but after a few of them, I got bored. It was always the same. Romance you for a little while, just until they've had enough to last them for a while, then they left you, broken hearted. Now I just steered clear of guys, because it seemed it was only that kind I was attracted to. Of course, not including Elliot...

He looked up at me as I knocked on the open door. "Hello. How can I help?"

"Are you Mr Scott, sir?" I asked.

"I am indeed. Who am I speaking to?" he smiled.

"Detective Benson, Special Victims Unit," I showed him my badge.

"Oh, well, detective, anything I can do to help, I will," he nodded.

"Well, right now I'd like to speak to Megan Kent, but I'd also like to have a word with you later on, Mr Scott," I nodded, and he glanced at one of the students sitting at the very front of the class. I saw her glance back up at him, and he nodded discreetly, obviously thinking I didn't see.

The girl got up and followed me out of the room, into the empty one next door. We sat down and I got a chance to have a good look at her. She looked like her mother. Tall, with piercing blue eyes and straight black hair, but she had more of a tan than her mother, and there was something about her I just did not like. I got that sometimes, but then again, didn't everyone? I suppose, being a Detective, I probably wasn't meant to, but I just couldn't help it. You sat down with someone, and the first impression wasn't too good. From this one, I got the feeling that she was in love with herself more than any teacher she might have been dating.

"What's this about?" she asked. She had a very annoying voice, and I could just tell she was one of the 'popular' girls. That was another thing I hated. The popular girls. I had never been one myself. But then, I guess, I couldn't have been. All the popular kids had big houses and rich families. I had a drunken mother. That wasn't a good start to being popular. I guess I wouldn't have had time to be popular either. I was always too busy trying to make my Mom love me. To stop her from drinking and hurting us.

"Your Mom called us," I stated.

"About what?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. It was if she had several things that could have gone wrong, and she wasn't sure which one I was talking about.

"Well, apparently you're in a relationship with your art teacher," I stated.

"Mr Scott?" the girl laughed loudly, and fakely. "No way."

"Why not?" I queried. "Don't you find him attractive?"

"What, do you mean do I have a crush on him?" Megan grinned, and I nodded. "Are you kidding?! Of course I do. Half of the girls at this school do. Come one. The guy's Scottish - different accent is automatically attractive."

See, I didn't agree with that, and I didn't understand teacher crushed either. I'd never crushed on any of my teachers at school. I'd never even found one attractive. I guess I was saving up all that attraction to unavailable unsuitable guys till I grew up.

"How old are you, Megan?" I asked.

"15 next month, why?" she shrugged.

"I was just wondering," I said. "Do you think that Mr Scott finds you attractive?"

The girl laughed, tipping her head back. "I dunno. Maybe. Lots of guys do. Younger, older, same age... I dunno. You'd have to ask him."

"Okay, well, I think I'll do just that," I nodded. "Why don't you go back in and I'll speak to him in a few minutes, okay?"

"Whatever," she shrugged, scraping her chair along the floor and floating out the door.

I sat back in my seat and let out a sigh. Yes, I was investigating a case where she was supposedly the victim, but god, she was annoying. She had that high-pitched, girly, put-on voice. She was gorgeous, and she knew it. She was probably doing many illegal things, and god knew I wanted to charge her with something, just to wipe that stupid smile off her face.

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Hopefully this was a bit of a better chapter. I know it's still not really long, but that's not my style. 

Anyhoo. Reviews plz!! x


	3. Chapter 3

I watched as I sat beside my partner, questioning the teacher. I'd always admired him, even if no-one else knew it. He was a great cop, he had passion, he had a good heart. Marriage and family meant everything to him. I knew that he was still hurting from his break-up with Kathy, and with not seeing his kids, and I really hated to see him get so worked up. He knew that he shouldn't keep it all bottled in, but he didn't know how to let it out. Lately, I'd been trying to help. My couch had seen a lot more of him the past few weeks. We'd gone out for drinks after work more. I felt that he just needed someone there for him, not even to talk to, just the comfort of being with someone he knew and trusted on a deeper level than most.

I took a long, hard look at the man sat across the table from us. I realised that his hands were shaking, and little beads of sweat were forming. I hated guys like this. They thought they could get away with anything, but when they got found out, they panicked, and they couldn't handle it. I just didn't understand why they even tried in the first place, if they were just gonna freak out.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time Mr Scott. Are you pursuing a relationship with your pupil, Megan Kent?" Elliot asked, and suddenly I snapped out of my own little world that I retreated into more than most people know.

"No, no, I'm not. I..." he paused and looked away. "Not Megan."

"Not Megan," Elliot stated, and Scott nodded.

"Wait..."I said, and he looked from my partner to me. "You mean not with Megan but with someone else?"/

"I want to call my lawyer," he stated.

"Is that what you mean?" Elliot questioned.

"I want to call my lawyer," he shrugged.

Elliot and I glanced at each other. We'd seen this so much, it really was getting old. The perp would almost admit to something, but would then call for their lawyer. It was impossible to know why they did it. To torture us? Did they get some perverse kick out of it? I didn't know, and to be honest? I didn't care.

We headed back to the squad room to be met by the Captain. I followed Elliot in and sat myself down on the chair. The Captain was a good guy too. Even though sometimes he could be a pain in the ass, to both Elliot and I, I knew that he was always looking out for us and trying to do teh best things in the situation, even if sometimes no-one was best pleased with him.

"Tell me where we're at on this teacher case," he ordered.

"Girl denied it. Teacher denied it," I replied.

"But the teacher, he said that he wasn't in a relationship with the girl, but with another pupil," Elliot stated and glanced over at me, cool blue meeting warm brown.

God, I loved it when he did that. It made my stomach jump. I knew that I shouldn't feel that way towards my partner, but I couldn't help it. Working side-by-side with someone, every day, for so long, it was different to any relationship that anyone else shared. You got to know them, on a deeper level. You had to completely trust them, with your life, becaust at any moment they might be the difference between living and dying. You had to have their back at all times, and you had to be prepared to make some sacrifices.

Also, you had to be able to step back sometimes, just to take a look at everything, but that wasn't something Elliot and I were too good at doing. We couldn't just take a breath and say 'This is just a job, and they're just my partner.' We had become something a little like Laurel and Hardy. We had become known as a pair, not just as Benson or Stabler. It was always Benson AND Stabler. That was fine with me though, because they were right. We were almost always together, and we did have a high solve rate, so it was alright.

"Okay, I want you to find out which pupil he's in a relationship with, and I want you to find out before he has a chance to abuse her even more," Craigan said, pointing a finger at us before stalking off to speak with Munch and Fin.

Elliot and I looked at each other, with a look that only said ' This should be fun.' There had to be at least 300 hundred girls at the school. Any of them could have been the one Scott was with, and we couldn't be 100 sure that he was actually telling the truth. I sighed softly, and Elliot paused before asking, "Where do you wanna start?"

"I reckon we should speak to the teacher again," I said, making eye contact with him. "Even if he has lawyered up. Maybe his lawyer will tell him if we find the girl without his help, Novak won't even consider making a deal."

"You think he's just gonna give the name up that easy?" Elliot spun round in his chair a little so that he was facing me.

"No," I shook my head. "Just a suggestion."

I looked down at my desk, but I could still feel Elliot's gaze on me. I was starting to feel uncomfortable after a few minutes, so I looked up, and he smiled slightly. "You wanna go talk to him?"

I nodded, and we grabbed our jackets, hauling ourselves off and heading out to find Mr Fraser Scott and have a word with him about this new relationship which had come to light.

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So I don't know if this is any good, we shall see. Thank you for reading. :- 


	4. Chapter 4

On the drive back to the school, I was just staring out the window, away in a world of my own. I was contemplating what to make of this Fraser Scott character. On one hand, I thought that he was a complete ass. If he actually in a relationship with a pupil, then he really was stupid. If he wasn't and he was lying about being in a relationship with a student, he was sick and twisted and seriously needed to have his head looked at.

Suddenly's Elliot's calm, cool voice penetrated my mind. "Liv..."

"Yeah," I looked round at him.

"You alright?" he asked, his deep blue eyes boring right into my soul, and my stomach flipped. Oh god, I hated it when he made me feel like this. I hated him for making me get all giddy. I hated him because...well, I hated him because I loved him.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about this case," I nodded. "Do you think he's got something going?"

"With a student?" Elliot asked and I nodded. "Sure I do. He's the kind of guy who would. Good-looking but knows it. He thinks he can do anything and get away with it. We've just gotta prove it."

I nodded, again staring out the window. He was almost always so logical. He saw the facts and he put them together to make a simple, straight-forward theory, which turned out to be right a lot of the time. I loved that. It was something that was a great tool when you were a detective, and it was also great that it was my partner who had this kind of skill.

* * *

At the school, we didn't even stop to talk to the frail old receptionist sitting downstairs. We stormed upstairs to Scott's classroom, and we knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Elliot leaned in closer to the door, and we both heard moaning. We looked at each other in shock - no way could it be this easy.

"Mr Scott, it's Detective Stabler and Detective Benson. Open the door," Elliot commanded, and we waited. There was no answer. The people inside were obviously far too wrapped up in what they were doing to pay attention to the two cops outside the door. "Mr Scott. Open the door."

Still nothing. Elliot looked at me and motioned to three with his fingers, and then kicked the door open. I scurried in to be met with the sight of two naked bodies writhing around on top of a desk. I froze - yeah, I was used to walking in on people having sex, but I didn't think I'd ever get used to the sight of two naked bodies. It just wasn't something that you wanted to watch. Well. It certainly wasn't something that I wanted to watch.

Elliot sighed, shaking his head. "Mr Scott! " He raised his voice, and the two bodies stopped, and the man looked behind him. "Hey there. Remember us?" As he spoke, he cocked his head to one side.

I just managed not to smile. Elliot did this kind of thing all the time. People maybe didn't think that I had a sense of humour, but that was just because I didn't show it too much. But when Elliot made remarks like this, and other sarcastic little comments, it really did make me smile - even if if I did manage to hide it.

"Play times over," Elliot said, chucking the clothes that had been strewn across the floor onto the bed. "Get up and dressed."

"Oh, and Miss? You too," I finished his sentence for him, and he looked round at me and smirked a little. I gave a discreet little smirk back, and he paused, still looking at me for a moment before turning back round.

We turned our backs as the two got dressed, and both of our attentions turned to the female that the guy as with. She looked young, about 14 maybe, and we looked at each other again. I knew exactly what he was thinking : we got him. If this girl really was as young as she looked, he was right. We had the guy. Even if the girl didn't want to press charges, we still could. After all, it was against the law to have sex with under 16s, and it was also against the law to have sex with someone under your care.

* * *

At the station, Munch and Fin had closed up their case, so they took Scott. Somehow I just knew they'd manage to get something out of him. They weren't the likeliest of partners, but they worked well together. Even if Munch was completely paranoid and Fin hated picking Munch up every morning. I guessed that secretly they were the best of friends.

That meant that Elliot and I got the girl, and we were supposed to be waiting until the girl's parents got to the station, but she insisted that her parents weren't called, so we just went straight in. We sat down opposite the girl. She was shaking, and tears were running down her cheeks. She looked like she was absolutely terrified.

"Hey sweetie, what's your name?" Elliot asked softly as he sat down opposite the girl.

"Emma," she said quietly.

"Emma, that's a nice name," he smiled at her. God, I loved it when he acted like this with victims and witnesses. It showed the softer, more sensitive side to Elliot Stabler. I'm sure that he wanted everyone to think that he was the tough-guy, the strong one, the one that everyone could rely on, but really, I knew that deep down inside even he didn't believe that. "What about your last name?"

"Collins," she said.

"Okay, Emma, I'm Detective Stabler and this is Detective Benson, but you can call us Elliot and Olivia," he said. "How old are you?"

"15," she replied, hugging her knees, resting her chin on them.

"Alright. Do you realise that what you and Mr Scott were doing today is illegal?" he asked.

I just stood there, watching. With cases like this, we always did something like this. One of us would try to connect with the kids first, and if we couldn't the other normally could. We were kind of like a tag-team in that sense.

"Uhu," Emma nodded. "But I love him."

"Oh, alright," Elliot nodded. "Do you think he loves you?"

"I know he does," she nodded.

Elliot glanced behind him, over his shoulder, at me, sighing. I shook my head slightly. We both knew that that was highly unlikely. Most cases where there was an older man and a younger woman involved, the girl often thought that the man loved her, because he had told her, but it was as easy to say you loved someone as it was to say hello to them.

"Has he told you this, Emma?" I asked quietly, and she nodded. "When?"

"Lots of times," Emma said.

"How long have you been with Mr Scott?" Elliot asked.

"Um...I think 4 months now," she said. "Yeah. It is. 4 months, because he told me first that he knew I had a crush on him way back in October."

"What happened?" I questioned, frowning slightly. So that was how he had gotten her to be with him. I bet that he had told her that he found her attractive too, and that he wanted to be with her, and because she had a crush on him, and because she idolised him, she had gone along with it and they had ended up having sex.

"Well, class had finished, it was last thing. We had just had Art, but I was last in the class because I was tidying up. Mr Scott came over to me and said that he saw how I reacted to him, and that he knew perfectly well that I had a crush on him. I went bright red, but he said it was okay. He said that he had gradually developed feelings for me. He said that he loved my eyes, and my smile. I just sorta looked at him, and then he said that he wanted to be with me. He said that he wanted to take care of me and make me happy. I didn't really believe it was happening, but then suddenly I started kissing him. I didn't know what I was doing - until Mr Scott I had never had a boyfriend. But I just started kissing him, and god, it felt so good. Then we started kissing regularly after school, then a couple of months back I asked him to make love to me. He said that he didn't want to ruin my life, that he didn't want to hurt me, but I begged him to, so he did, and we've met up every Wednesday lunch to have sex ever since then," she said, a smile appearing on her face.

Elliot and I looked at eachother yet again, and then Elliot fixed the girl with one of those trade-mark, deep, intense stares of his. I watched on as the girl looked up at him, and then she said softly, "Mr Scott would never hurt me.He loves me."

"Alright," Elliot nodded, getting up from his seat, nodding to me. "If you just wanna stay here, Emma. Is there anything I can get you?"

The girl shook her head, and we both nodded. Elliot opened the door for me, letting me out first, and then he walked out behind me.

"What do you think?" he asked, and I turned and looked him right in the eye.

"The way she told it, it sure as hell sounded real, but I don't know. There are some pretty intellligent pedophiles out there," I said.

"You're right there," he nodded, sitting down in his seat, stretching, letting out a long sigh.

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This was a pretty long chapter for me. Hope it is alright!! Reviews would be nice:-)

GrissomzGal


	5. Chapter 5

Munch and Fin came out around ten minutes later. Fin sat down silently and just let Munch do the talking. He was obviously far too angry to speak to us about anything the guy had said.

Munch stood in-front of us, and I looked at him. Sometimes, it felt slightly like he was being protective over me, maybe as if he felt that I was, in a way, like the daughter he never had. The way he behaved sometimes was very fatherly. Like the time when we had to fill in those evaluation forms and Munch was going on about another of his conspiracy theories and he commented on me leaving the father's field blank, saying that I had the right idea to confuse the evaluation people. That one hurt. Normally when people said things out of turn about my father, I didn't really care, but it was the way Munch had said it, and it had been a tough couple of weeks, and I really felt that one.

Then later on, Munch apologised, and he got some information for me. No, it wasn't my father that I found, but he had tried. It didn't come as a surprise that Munch found out though. Elliot was always looking out for me, so I knew that he would tell him or get onto him about it. Elliot was good like that. He knew when to say something and when not to.

"So the teacher says that things started 4 months ago, and that he loves her, and that he didn't want to hurt her by having sex with her but that she begged him," Munch shook his head.

Elliot and I looked at each other, really surprised. Either they already had a cover story worked out, or they were actually both telling the truth. Surely that couldn't be right. There was no way that it actually was…. Could it really be love?

* * *

About an hour later, Emma Collins' parents had been and gone. They'd come in a hurry, wanting to know what had happened to their only daughter, but then they'd left as soon as the Captain had told them why she was here. So much for kind loving parents. I knew now exactly why Emma hadn't wanted them to be called in the first place - she knew how it would all turn out and how they would react.

George Huang had been called in, and he had asked to see the two, Scott and his pupil…or girlfriend I suppose they would rather she be called… together, so we got Emma and led her into the room where Scott was being detained.

All 6 of us stood outside the room, watching through the two way mirror. Emma ran right to him, right into his arms. They hugged each other tightly, and the teacher kissed the top of her head.

Elliot turned the sound up, and we continued to watch.

"Are you okay?" Fraser Scott asked.

"Uhu," she nodded. "They asked me how things had started and I just told them the truth. I don't think they believed that we're in love."

"That doesn't matter," he said softly. "The only ones who matter are us. We know that we love each other."

"Are you gonna go to prison?" Emma's eyes teared up.

"I don't know sweetheart," he sighed. "I don't know."

"I don't want you to Fraser, because I'll miss you," she buried her face into him.

"I know, I'll miss you too," he whispered as she sobbed into him. "It's going to be okay, Emma, sshh."

I couldn't believe my eyes. Either the two of them were really great actors, or this was for real. But I just didn't get it. I didn't understand why you would want to even think about actually pursuing a relationship with a teacher. Yeah, it was fair enough crushing on one - that happened all the time, I knew that. I just didn't understand how you could be bothered. You would have to hide it all the time, there would always be the chance of being caught and getting into severe trouble, and you could never be certain if it was all for real or just one big huge lie.

Although, part of my views might have been based on my past relationships, and I may have been cynical about love and relationships, but I was sure that I wasn't the only one standing there that thought it was all too much of a hassle.

* * *

That night, Elliot and I went out for a drink, and we were sitting in the corner booth of the bar, away from everyone else, all the noise and all the drunks. We were just sitting in silence, me just staring into my beer, when I suddenly became aware of eyes on me. I instantly knew whose eyes were upon me, because I got that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked up to be met with an incredibly intense, deep blue gaze.

We just looked at each other for a while, before I got a bit uncomfortable and looked away. I could still feel his eyes on me. It was times like this that I started to think, what if the rumours going round actually did have a slight truth to them. What if he did have feelings for me, above and beyond the normal partner relationship? I guessed there were rumours going round that I had feelings for him too. It was just part of the parcel of having a partner of the opposite sex.

"Hey, Liv," he started softly, and I looked up at him, dreading what he was going to ask, because he had that tone in his voice. That tone he used when he had something important or personal to ask. "I've heard some rumours at work, going round the precinct."

"Oh?" I knew now exactly what he was going to bring up.

"I, uh…" he paused. "I don't know if you've heard, but apparently we're seeing each other."

"Are we really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he smiled slightly. "I just…wondered…if there was some truth to the rumours that you had feelings for me."

"Elliot, I…" I looked away. God, this was awkward. What the hell was I meant to say? I couldn't just laugh it off, that would be far too out of character, but I could hardly admit it either, could I? Elliot was my best friend… one of my only friends, actually. I didn't want to ruin everything we had, just for a quickie in my bedroom. Although, I knew that Elliot wasn't the type to do that. "No… Not the kind of feelings you're talking about."

"You sure?" he asked, and I nodded. "Oh. Okay."

I paused before again looking up at him, but now he was the one looking away. The way he had spoken had sounded…disappointed almost. Surely not. No, I mean, come on. This was Elliot Stabler. He was a family man. He still hurt over his break up and he missed his kids. There was no way that he had feelings for me, Olivia Benson, his partner at work. No…. but then, there was still this nagging feeling somewhere deep down that told me, of course it was possible. It was obvious in the way he looked at me, in the way he spoke to me, in the way he was around me, in the way he protected me, even if it meant endangering himself.

Even if it was possible, it would just have to wait. We had a really confusing case on our hands, and we needed all our energy to try and figure out if this was for real or not. If it could really be love.

* * *

I kind of tried to get in a little bit more E/O and not just focus on the case, but I don't know if I got it right or not. I'll just have to wait and see what you think. Thank you for reading! 


	6. Chapter 6

So the few reviews I've had have been good, so I think I should continue.

* * *

During the night, I was tossing and turning in bed. I kept thinking about the case. I didn't know what to think about it all. Yeah, it was kinda disgusting, the thought of having a relationship with your teacher. But the way the two were acting, it really seemed as if they were truly in love. But I didn't know if that was even possible. Could you really fall in love with your teacher? I didn't know the answer to that. 

Suddenly a high-pitched noise awoke me. I jumped and looked around me, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. It came to me that it was my phone that was ringing. I frowned and reached over, answering, "Hello?"

"Liv, it Elliot," his gorgeous voice answered, and my heart skipped a beat. What was Elliot Stabler of all people doing calling me at...half 3 in the morning? "We got a problem." Then I realised - it wasn't to do with us, it was to do with work. God, right now I hated work. I hated the fact that the only reason the man I...dare I say it? I hated the fact that the only reason the man I loved called me during the night was because something was wrong with the case we were working on.

There, I had admitted it. I had admitted that I was in love with him. I guess I had been in love with him since I first met him. There was just something about him that drew you to him. I wasn't sure quite what it was. It could have been any of a number of things : those deep blue eyes, that gorgeous, infectious smile. The broodiness. The fantastic body. The protectiveness. The feeling that he'd look after you no matter what, that he'd make you happy without even trying to.

"What's happened?" I asked sleepily.

"Shots fired," he replied.

"Where?!" I asked, shocked.

"Emma Collins' residence," he replied.

"Oh, god, okay," I jumped out of bed and began to get ready.

"I'll pick you up," Elliot replied and then he gone.

I let out a sigh. Why did something like this always have to happen? Our case was already confusing enough. Yeah, sure Novak was going to easily prosecute the teacher, that seemed simple enough. But then, you had to consider everything else. If you believed their stories, they were completely in love. If you watched them together, they were completely in love. Everything but society said they were truly in love and I didn't have any evidence to prove otherwise.

* * *

At the Collins household, Elliot and I stalked in. There were cops swarming all around us. You could smell the blood all around you. Elliot looked at me, and I shook my head. I still couldn't get used to walking smelling the blood. You could feel death in the air. There was just something about it. Everything seemed slower, the air seemed thicker, and it seemed harder to breath. 

"You okay?" he asked me quietly, his voice tender and caring.

I looked right into his eyes and nodded slowly. I really did love in when he looked at me like that. I could see how much he did genuinely care about me.

We wandered through to where the body was. It was Mrs Collins, Emma's Mother. She was lying face down on the floor, a bullet wound to the back, blood pooling around her. I gasped and covered my mouth. "Oh god." I had to run outside. I really didn't feel too good at all. I didn't know why - I was nprmally perfectly fine with all this blood and gore.

Outside, I leaned against out car, breathing in the cool, fresh air with long, deep, smooth breaths. I was just standing there, staring at the ground, trying to get back to my normal self, when someone stood in front of me. I looked at the black shoes for a moment before my gaze travelled up his legs, up his body, and then I focused on his eyes.

"You alright?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

"I...uh, yeah, I think so," I nodded, but then I wished I hadn't. I felt all dizzy and my legs gave way. I felt myself falling, but then strong arms gripped my waist, holding me up. Without thinking, I reached up and held onto his strong, muscular upper arms, steading myself, closing my eyes.

After a few minutes, I realised that we were standing, in public, holding onto each other, and I realised what it must have looked like. I quickly let go of Elliot, but he just stood there, watching me intently. I looked into his eyes and gasped, parting my lips slightly, licking them as they had suddenly become dry.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked with a cheeky little smirk.

I couldn't help the smile that played on my lips as I looked right back into his eyes.

"C'mon. I'll take you home," he said, taking me round to the other side of the car, opening the passenger door and helping me inside.

* * *

On the drive back to mine, it was completely silent, but it was a very comfortable silence. It was very enjoyable. No, I didn't feel well, but just spending some time with Elliot, alone, was great. Yeah, we did it a lot on the way to work and crime scenes etc, but it wasn't often that we go to spend some time on our own without the anticipation of what a day at work was going to bring us, or what we were going to find at out latest crime scene. 

He pulled up outside my block, and we just sat there for a few minutes. I looked at him and asked quietly, "You wanna come up?"

"I should get back to the scene. Captain will wonder where I've gone," he replied, and I nodded, still not budging. "But I guess I could. I can just say I was helping you get better."

"Likely story," I smiled, and he chuckled softly, something which was rarely heard from the man beside me. It made me smile even more. I thought that he really should laugh more. It was a beautiful sound, and it made his whole face light up. It really was a good look for him.

Upstairs, without even asking, he walked straight to the kitchen. He poured me a glass of water and started the kettle going. As I watched, a big smile appeared on my face. The sight of Elliot in my kitchen was certainly something I could get used to. It just seemed so natural and I loved what I saw. I just wished that it was something that I saw more often, because it really filled my heart with joy to see the man I was in love with in my kitchen pottering about.

After a few minutes, Elliot came over and sat beside me. He handed me the glass of clear, cool liquid, and then he took a sip of his coffee, putting his arm along the back of the couch. As he sat there, I couldn't help but notice that he was closer than usual to me. I glanced at him, but he wasn't paying any attention, he was just staring straight ahead.

My stomach was in absolutely knots. I wasn't sure if that was because I still felt unwell, or if it was because of Elliot's closeness. I could smell his unique, very masculine scent. Ever since he and Kathy had split up, he's smelt more manly. Before, you could still smell his wife on him, but now...now every time he was close to me I could never think straight. He really did drive me crazy, but a good crazy. He made me want him so much, sometimes, and he didn't even realise it. Sometimes even just the way he moved or the way he looked at me got me going. I was sure that if anyone knew some of the thoughts I had about this man they would be shocked.

I looked round at him again, and I gasped as he looked round at me at the exact same time. Our lips were about a centimetre apart. He glanced down at my lips, and all I could think was how close we were to each other. How close we were to kissing. I had never, ever been this close to him before. All the previous times I had been this close to a man, I hadn't felt half as amazing as I did right then. My heart was racing, the butterflies in my stomach were as active as ever. Now I knew what his wife had felt for 20 years. I liked this. I could get used to this. I wanted to kiss him so much, but in a way I wished we weren't this close because I didn't want to ruin our friendship.

Suddenly Elliot moved, and I closed my eyes...

* * *

Tee hee hee. I know this was a weird cliff-hanger, but it's still cliff hanger, and I love a good old cliff-hanger. I know this chapter was more to do with E/O than the case, but the next chapter I will try to include an equal amount of both.

A review would make me happy, so please please please review, even if it is to tell me you don't like this fic! GrissomzGal. x


	7. Chapter 7

_So I had a chapter 7 up already, but I added some more onto the end of it. I hope that it's a bit better, but I don't know if it well be.__

* * *

_

Suddenly Elliot moved, and I closed my eyes.

* * *

"Oh, god," he ran his hands over his face. "Liv, I…..uh… I should probably go."

"Elliot," I grabbed his hand, and he stopped, looking round at me. "It's not your fault."

"Olivia, don't try and make this better," he shook his head.

"Elliot, come on, that was a mistake on both of our parts," I said. "Please, just sit down."

I was panicking now. I didn't want him to go. I know that we had made a big mistake, but I was desperate for it not to ruin things between us. Elliot was really all I had and I couldn't stand to lose him. I loved him too much.

"No, I should," he nodded with a sigh.

The following morning, I walked into the precinct to find Elliot standing at the coffee machine. He glanced round at me as I walked in and he nodded in acknowledgement. I nodded back slightly, taking my coat off.

"Do we know what happened to Mrs Collins?" I asked him as I walked over to the coffee machine.

"Uh, yeah, Munch and Fin took over from us yesterday," Elliot nodded, avoiding my gaze, sipping his steaming hot coffee. "Apparently the wife was so disgusted by her daughter, that she held a gun to her. Husband came in, wife was away to pull the trigger, husband wrestled the gun away from her but it went off as he grabbed it from her. Novak's gonna go easy on him."

"Okay," I nodded. "So where are we going from here?"

I could sense the awkwardness. We never really interacted on a personal level too much at work, or were really close at work, but our words were never awkward and the conversation was never stilted. I hated the fact that what we had done last night, the fact that we had actually let ourselves get so close to that kind of situation, and it really hurt me. It really hurt that we had ruined part of our friendship that we couldn't get back. It hurt that he could hardly look at me.

"Well, uh… we just gotta wait till the bastard goes up in front of the Grand Jury," he sighed.

So four days later, Fraser Scott was up in front of the Grand Jury. Elliot and I sat next to each other, watching on. The man was let out on bail, set at half a million dollars. He managed to pay it – he was hardly a poor man – and we both knew that he would go right to his girlfriend, so we paid a visit to her house, but she wasn't in.

"Where do you think he is?" I asked my partner as we headed back to our car.

I didn't like this case one bit. It was a hard case. Fair enough there had been harder, and in this one, no-one had been raped or murdered, but it was still hard. I didn't know whether or not to believe the two. It seemed as if they really were in love, but that didn't mean anything. Scott could have told her what to say. He could have brainwashed her. I would bet anything on the fact that he was good at bluffing. I bet that he had told her he was in love with her and that he couldn't live without her.

"I'm thinking we should check at his place," Elliot stated simply, and I let out a soft sigh as we got into the car.

I really did hate our situation. It had been so so awkward, and I wasn't used to things between Elliot and being awkward. Ever since the day we had met, we had had this connection, and we had very quickly fallen into sync with each other. We didn't even need to speak sometimes; we were that in tune with each other, and I hated it when that all went to pot. I hated it when I couldn't look into his eyes and instantly be able to read what he was thinking.

At Scott's house, Elliot banged firmly on the door, and after a few moments, Fraser Scott came to the door.

"Oh, detectives, hiya," he nodded, seeming exhausted and worn out. "What can I do for you?"

"We just wanted to check on your…uh…Emma," I said. I didn't really know what to call the girl. Sure, she was his girlfriend, but I didn't really want to call her that, because then I'd be acknowledging the fact that they were actually that close.

"Oh, sure," he nodded, turning to the rest of the house. "Em, sweetheart, the Detectives want a word with you."

There was a paused and then a teary, fragile-looking young girl appeared. Fraser gave a sigh and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head. She cuddled into him as she looked up at us. We glanced at each other, and we had the same look on our faces.

Neither of us could believe that he was actually seemingly looking after her. I knew what it was like to lose your Mother, and I knew what it was like to feel as if everything in your life was going wrong. I just didn't know what it felt like to have somebody there who was going to look after you no matter what. No matter if you were a crying mess, or if you snapped at them and got furious with them, they were going to be by your side.

I turned to look back at the two, and Elliot sighed before asking, "Emma, we've just come to ask you a few questions, would that be alright?"

"Can Fraser stay with me?" she asked, trying not to cry, her bottom lip trembling.

Watching her, my heart was breaking. I just felt so much for her. I could see that she was falling apart in her boyfriend's arms, and I actually truly did believe now that they were completely in love. I doubted very much that he would be standing by her through all of this. I reckoned that if he was just playing her, once he'd been found out he would sever all ties to her, but no. That wasn't the case here. He was still with her.

"Yeah, sure he can," I nodded, keeping my voice calm and quiet. That earned me a glare from Elliot, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to try and separate the two, not right now. The guy was waiting for his day in court, awaiting the jury's verdict, and the girl's family had been completely torn apart. I knew that we wouldn't get anywhere if we spoke to them on their own.

We headed through to the living room. The house was nice. Not huge, not too small. Just right. It was very cosy, with nice furniture and a little fake fire on the wall opposite the door. It was like the kind of house I had always dreamed of living in when I was a little girl, stuck in my room. I'd dream that I'd marry a nice, respectable, handsome man and that we'd have lots of children and live happily ever after. That dream certainly hadn't turned into reality that was sure.

"Take a seat Detective," the teacher motioned to the couch and we both took a seat.

"So, Emma, how have things been since what happened with your Mom?" Elliot asked quietly, in that kind voice that I loved oh so much. The only thing that got to me was that I knew he was still unsure of all of this.

"I…" she paused. "Since Fraser got out on bail, I've been here mostly."

"And how are things here?" Elliot continued the questioning, as I was just quite content to sit and listen to his soft voice, watch him, every now and then looking into his deep, ocean blue eyes. I let out a soft sigh, without even realising I was doing it. He was the guy who made me do that. The one who made me do those little sighs.

"Good," she nodded. "You don't have to worry about me here. Fraser would never do anything to hurt me."

"Yeah," Elliot nodded. I could hear by the tone of his voice he still wasn't particularly convinced about this whole thing.

"I believe that," I suddenly said, and then froze as I realised what I'd said.

"Thank you," I heard Scott say quietly, and I nodded.

On the drive back to the precinct, everything was silent, still awkward. We were just sitting there, him concentrating on the road, me away in my own world. Even though Elliot was right beside me, I still felt as if I was a million miles away from him. I still felt lonely. I guess it was just everything going on. The case, the fact that recently things had been getting to me more than usual, the fact that lately I had really been feeling for Elliot more than normal… everything was adding up to create a lot of confusion and anger and hurt.

"Why'd do you say that back at the house?" Elliot asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence, penetrating my little world.

"Because it was the truth," I replied. "I did believe it. I do believe it."

"You didn't need to say that to them though," he shook his head. "Who knows what he's gonna make of that now. He might even get it brought up at trial. That bastard might get away with it, and it might be because of you."

"What, so if Scott gets away with this, it's all going to be my fault?! Is that what you're saying?!" I asked angrily. How dare he accuse me of sabotaging this case?!?!

"Sure as hell is!!" he shouted back. He was really angry – not just about this whole case, about everything in general, and I could tell.

"How dare you!!" I screamed. "It is not my fault if you're so much of an idiot that you can't see that the girl and the guy are in love, is it?!"

"You're calling me an idiot?!" he roared.

I knew that arguing wasn't gonna help, but it was just… it was sort of not only anger, but it was all the passion too. We both cared so much about our jobs, about this case… about each other. Sometimes I liked having it out with Elliot, because I knew that after everything was over and done with, things would still be the same. I knew that there would be no hard feelings. We could both vent our frustrations without any fall out. It was good for the both of us.

"I sure as hell am!! You know why?! Because that's the truth!!" I screamed right back at him. I wasn't going to take any of his rubbish. I wasn't going to act the innocent, fragile little woman. Not this time, no way.

"You shut the hell up!! You don't even know me, Olivia!!" he violently stamped on the brakes and the car halted, making us both fly forwards only to be restrained by the belts.

"I don't know you?!" I asked with an incredulous laugh. "You really believe that Elliot? After what we've been through with job, after all the times we've talked, you really believe I don't know you?"

I looked round at him, but he just clenched his jaw. God, this felt good. I didn't know if everybody loved this kind of thing – arguing and shouting at your best friend… at the one you loved…but I loved it. It helped get rid of any frustrations you felt and it helped you relax after it was all over and done with.

"Well, if you'd just open your eyes, Ell, you'd realise that I do," I said, lowering my voice a little. "I do know you. I can read you like a book half of the time. Don't think I don't know that you're dying inside. You might think you're hiding from everyone by keeping it all in, but I can see it. I can see all the hurt, all the pain, all the anger. And if you want to let that out with me, fine, but just don't tell me I don't know you."

He just stayed silent, jaw still clenched. I wished that he would look at me, so that I could understand what was going through his mind right then. I wanted to know if he was annoyed with me, or if he was dying to break down, or if he just totally agreed with me and didn't want to admit it.

The car fell back into silence. It was still a little awkward, with all that passion and anger floating around, but it wasn't as awkward as it had been. Sometimes Elliot Stabler just needed to have his head bawled off so that he could see. He just needed a kick up the ass, and very often, I was the one who gave him that kick. Deep down, I knew that he was grateful to me for that.

After a few minutes, Elliot said, his voice quiet and soft, "How'd you do that?"

"What?" I asked.

"Nobody else can shut me up if I'm that angry," he shook his head. "When Cragen tries he just makes me madder…. Actually, when anyone else tries, it just makes me madder. But not you. Why is that?"

"It's a gift," I said, and gave me one of those quick, half smiles.

"How'd you know all that though?" he queried. The anger in his voice had now dissipated and had been replaced by curiousness, and wonder. He sounded a lot calmer.

"It's like I said Ell, I know you, and I can read you like a book," I shrugged. It really was that simple, and I didn't see why he didn't understand it. I knew that he could read me real easily too.

He nodded and it was noiseless for a moment again before he said softly, "That's scary."

It wasn't even funny, but I laughed. Actually, properly laughed. He grinned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I… uh, I actually don't know," I smiled at him, and he gave me smirk right back. I watched him for a little longer – I had been right, our argument definitely had made things a lot better. Already.

"That really is scary," he chuckled, and we drove back to the precinct both in a happier mood.

* * *

So I hope this was better. Please review for this chapter!!

GrissomzGal


	8. Chapter 8

So I know that the last chapter wasn't the best, so I hope this one will be better.

* * *

Just as soon as we got to the precinct, Cragen stormed out of his office. "You two. What the hell are you doing back?" 

"We finished speaking to the girl," Elliot replied, glancing round at me to see if I knew why Cragen seemed so mad.

I didn't. The older man seemed as if he was going to blow his top. I had only seen him so angry with Elliot or that time I told the reporter about a case. Even thought it didn't terrify me, it did intimidate me, but I don't think that anybody knew that. It was just the fact that Cragen could get really mad and could suspend you or fire you that got to me. If I didn't have my job I didn't have anything.

"Where was she?" Cragen demanded.

"At Scott's house," Elliot replied, squaring his shoulder, drawing himself up to his full height. I didn't even think he realised he was doing it sometimes. I think it was just all the testosterone and the need to defend himself and others around him. It was something I had grown to love. "Why?"

Cragen's face had fallen. That wasn't good.

"Call came in. Hostage situation.Scott's house," he stated, and I gasped. Elliot turned to look at me, and he just shook his head. Neither of us knew what to say. Either the person holding the hostages had been in the house when we were or they'd got in moments after we had left. "Go back. You need to be there ASAP."

We nodded and almost ran back out to the car. My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. We had either not realised there was an intruder in the house, or we had almost been hostages ourselves. Now that was something that scared me. I didn't get too scared too often, but that... that scared me. Hostage situations really freaked me out. Especially when they involved Elliot.

* * *

The drive to Scott's house was silent. We had the police lights on, so it didn't take too long to get to the house. We ran up the path to the door, which was slightly ajar, and listened carefully. 

We looked at each other, and I nodded. He motioned to three and pushed the door open, making sure that he didn't shove it to energetically so that it made no noise. I scurried in, holding my gun out in front of me, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of movement. There were none, just a muffled voice coming from up the stairs.

There was something about this situation - the walking into a house where you knew there was something going on. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and it made shivers go right down my spine.

Elliot started up the stairs, and I followed right behind him. It was something that happened regularly. He would go up first, or in first. It happened a lot. I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was just simply because that was what happened - but then again, maybe it was because he felt for me and wanted to protect me. I wished, anyway...

Up stairs, Elliot and I looked at each other again. Now I was starting to get butterflies. It was a mix of the situation and the fact that he kept looking at me. Lately, he really had been getting to me more than normal. I had been realising my feelings even more lately. It was good that I could realise it, but the fact that it was causing so much inner-turmoil and torture wasn't all that good.

Elliot banged on the door, shouting, "POLICE!! OPEN UP!!"

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to do this," the guys inside, who sounded Scottish just like Scott, but his voice was even deeper and more gravelly.

"TELL ME YOUR NAME!!" Elliot roared.

"Again, you must be an idiot," the guy gave an incredulous laugh.

"It's my ex's brother, Paul Johnstone!!" Fraser Scott shouted back at us, but then we heard the other guy curse something incoherently and then BANG!! BANG!! we heard two gunshots.

Elliot and I both jumped. No matter how many times you heard that sound, it didn't get any easier to hear, any less scary and it didn't freak you out any less. Elliot slammed his foot into the door and it flew open, bouncing back against the wall as we strode inside, guns aimed at the other Scottish man... Paul Johnstone.

Fraser Scott was lying on his back on the bed, letting out muffled groans of pain, blood pouring from his shoulder, and Emma Collins was leaning over him sobbing. Johnstone was stood in front of the bed, staring at Elliot and I. He was tall, about Elliot's height, with dark grey hair and piercing, baby blue eyes. He quickly moved his gun from Fraser and Emma to us.

"DON'T MOVE, OR I'LL KILL YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!" Johnstone yelled at the top of his voice

"You don't want to do that," Elliot shook his head, keeping his voice quiet.

I glanced over at Fraser and Emma. The girl was panicking... they both were. Emma was sobbing her heart out, and Fraser was trying to calm her down and deal with his pain all at the same time. I hated it when people were panicking and I couldn't help them. I moved to help them, but another gun shot rang out, and I jumped, ducking. I looked round to see a small bullet hole in the wall, then glimpsed at Johnstone. He was standing there, hands trembling. I couldn't tell if the shaking was out of fear, nerves or anger. The guy was completely unreadable.

"I TOLD YOU!! DON'T MOVE!!" Johnstone barked.

"She's only trying to help Scott. Think about it," Elliot said, not even looking at me, just knowing straight away what I was heading to do. "If she helps to save him, Paul, you won't be on trial for murder. Think about it."

Johnstone paused for a moment, his piercing blue eyes darting from Elliot, to me, to Fraser and Emma and back to Elliot, then he nodded. "Okay, go help him, but nothing else."

I leaned over Fraser, balled up a shirt that lay on the bed and put pressure on the bullet wound. He let out a yelp of pain, and I whispered softly, "I'm sorry, I know it's painful, but if you want to live you've got to let me do it."

He nodded as best as he could. I saw him glance at Emma, and as it often had done watching these two, my heart broke. I could just tell they were crazy for each other. I could tell that he definitely did love her and wasn't just lying to cover his ass. I knew that he didn't deserve to be locked up for this, even if it was illegal. It was then that I knew what I had to do.

"Listen," I leaned down, murmuring into his ear. "If you want me to, I'll tesify at your trial. I can see you love Emma."

I leaned back up and looked into his deep brown eyes. The man looked petrified and absolutely baffled.

"Honestly," I nodded, and he let out a shaky sigh.

"Thank you," he closed his eyes, swallowing hard. He grabbed Emma's hand, and they looked at each other, love in their eyes. They knew now that they were going to be alright. That maybe, just maybe, he wasn't going to get so much time in jail, or maybe even get away without going to jail, and that maybe they'd be allowed to live their lifes in peace.

I knew that that was never going to happen. Even if he managed to evade the jail sentence, they'd never be allowed to live in peace. There would always be some people who were going to harass them and try to bring them down, and I knew that eventually, whether it was five months along, or five years along, the jibes and comments would get to them and everything would break down. I knew they'd never live a happy ever after.

"Okay, Paul, listen to me here buddy," I heard Elliot's voice behind me, but I couldn't look round, I was far too busy trying to help Fraser Scott.

"Why should I listen to you?!" Paul Johnstone bellowed.

"Because I can help you," Elliot stated. "Any minute now, there are gonna be swarms of cops outside. Snipers. They're not gonna listen to you. I will. You just tell me why you're here... explain things... I can help."

"I don't want your help," Johnstone shook his head, looking down at the floor. "I'm not going to tell you why I'm here, I won't."

"Okay, well you need to tell me something I can use to help you," Elliot said quietly.

"No. As soon as I tell you you're going to shoot me. There's no point," Johnstone stated, clenching his jaw.

Suddenly, there was another BANG and Emma Collins screamed. I jumped, glancing over my shoulder, to see Elliot falling to the floor. I froze momentarily before drawing my gun and firing a single shot at Johnstone. It hit him right in the middle of his forehead, and he spent a moment on his feet before collapsing in a heap, dead, on the floor.

"Emma, keep the pressure on his shoulder," I ordered and ran to Elliot, kneeling down on the floor.

The bullet had hit him in the chest, just to the right of his heart, and the blood was gushing out of his body. Without thinking I placed my hands over the wound and pressed down as hard as I could. My hands were trembling like I'd never experienced before. I was trying so hard not to cry. Elliot was all I had. I didn't know what I'd do if I lost him.

I know that sounds pathetic, but it's the truth. I loved the man, beyond belief, like I had never known before. I really did not know how I would cope without Elliot. I didn't know how I would cope with another partner. I just didn't know anything right then, except that I had to save Elliot, somehow.

"Liv..." Elliot croaked.

"No, Ell, don't speak," I shook my head, continuing the pressure on his chest. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let you go. It's not your time."

He looked right up into my eyes, and my heart did actually stop for a millisecond. Right then I was his only lifeline, and that just made me panic. We just gazed into each other's eyes, and I shook my head slowly, keeping the pressure on him.

"Elliot..."I breathed, a tear dripping down my cheek.

"Liv, just...let me go," he said, his voice faltering.

"I'll never do that Elliot," I shook my head, removing one hand, trying the best I could to keep the pressure on with my other hand as I pulled out my radio and called for a bus to come as soon as it possibly could. I shoved the black device back into its place and returned my hand to his chest. "You mean too much to too many people. You have your kids, everyone at the precinct, the people you help... you have me..."

"Liv, I..." he paused, his eyes closing for a moment, his jaw clenching. His eyes flickered open again, this time a little clearer. "I...I love you..."

"Oh, god, Elliot..." I gasped, my heart skipping a beat, my stomach doing a million flips. It seemed like forever we gazed into each other's eyes. I couldn't think right. Had he really just said he loved me? Had Elliot Stabler, the man I was crazy about, just said that he loved me? Had he really? "Ell... I... I love you too."

He let out a groan of pain, closing his eyes, grimacing. "Olivia, just... let go."

"No," I shook his head. "It's going to be alright Elliot. I promise you. I'm not going to let you go, I swear."

I could see in his eyes that he was in unimaginable pain, and that he just wanted me to let him go, but I just couldn't I loved him far too much to let him go. I guessed that if I hadn't been so in love with the man, I might have been able to let go, but there was just something telling me, over and over again, 'Don't let go... don't let go...' and I couldn't.

I reached up with one hand, keeping the pressure on, brushing his forehead with the back of my hand. "It's okay Elliot. It's going to be okay."

His eyes closed, and I shook my head. "No, come on, stay with me Ell. Stay with me. Eyes open." He didn't move, and I really started to panic now. "Elliot!! ELLIOT!!"

Suddenly the door burst open and paramedics rushed in. Two went to Fraser, two came to Elliot. Everything seemed a blur to me now. I just seemed to go along with the flow of things. I moved to let the paramedics in, I couldn't think straight. I was distraugh, I was terrified... I didn't know what was happening to me. I just knew that Elliot wasn't doing so good, and that was petrifying me. I couldn't live without him... especially not now that he had told me he loved me. I found myself following the paramedics to a waiting ambulance, and then climbing in the back with Elliot. I kept my gaze locked on him. I didn't want to look away for fear of something happening. This wasn't good. It wasn't often I lost my head, but this was one of those moments when you just can't seem to get your head around anything. I just wanted him to be okay. I just... I needed Elliot.


	9. Chapter 9

So I know that the last chapter may have been slightly evil :P We shall try and make this one less evil.

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I'd never been religious. How could I have been when I had a drunk for a Mom? I had always been too busy fighting with demons all my life to believe in a God of any sort. Sure, I thought it could be possible, but I didn't believe. I wasn't like Elliot. 

I'd always been a stubborn woman. I'd always stuck to my principals, and I only ever did things if I knew they were going to eventually be for the greater good. But then suddenly things changed. The man I loved had been shot. He was somewhere in this damn hospital, fighting for his life... or at least I hoped he was. God I hoped so much that he hadn't given up. He'd said he loved me... I'd admitted I felt the same. Things could maybe progress from there. But I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that either Elliot hadn't meant it the way I had, or that he'd just said it because he thought he was dying and would deny it as soon as I brought it up. I didn't want that... if it happened my heart would break even more than it already had, seeing him lying there, looking as terrified as I had ever seen him, blood everywhere.

My hands were shaking. I glanced down at them to see that they were absolutely covered in blood. I'd not noticed that up until that moment. It was a horrible feeling. I was standing there, untouched, and my partner was in serious danger. It was similair to the feeling I assumed you got when someone you knew died but you were safe, or when someone saved you at the expense of their own life. I wished I didn't have to feel it, but I guess that if...no, I told myself that I should be possible. I guessed when Elliot was back to normal, I would appreciate him even more because I had so nearly lost him.

Pacing and pacing, I was going crazy. I was sure that by the time someone came to tell me about Elliot's condition, the tattered, cheap carpet would be worn out where my feet had repeatedly trampled over it. I had always hated waiting. Waiting for a cab, the bus, a flight... but this, this was just a new level of hate for waiting. I was waiting to find out if my partner, my best friend, the one I was crazy for... had survived.

I supposed Kathy would turn up soon. It was only a matter of time. That would be hellish. She'd blame me for this, I knew she would. She blamed me for her and Elliot breaking up - she never even considered that it might be something to do with the stress Elliot was under, or what he saw each and every day. Yes, the way he handled things - not talking about work to protect his family was very noble and respectable, but it all built up inside him, and that really wasn't good.

The thing that got to me was that he didn't realise he could talk to me about it. Yeah, sure I had already experienced it with him, but that didn't meant that I wasn't willing to talk with him about everything. Actually, it would probably have helped both of us to let our feelings out, just with each other, where no-one had any opportunity to comment on what we said. Yes, I'd have to suggest talking about things every now and again when Elliot was up to it.

I let out a long, shaky sigh. This was awful. I stood still, running my hands over my face, and then I froze. I turned round and came face to face with myself in the mirror. Just what I thought. The blood from my hands had transferred to my face, and I had red streaks all over me now. For some weird reason, that didn't bother me. Normally, blood on your face would freak you out, but - and this was really quite disgusting and perverse - looking at myself, feeling his dried blood over me gave me a sense of safety, as if he was right there with me. I didn't know why it gave me that feeling, but it was a great feeling, so I wasn't about to deny myself it.

I was just trying so hard just to keep myself together. I was normally very composed and unemotional, but this... this was just too much. I'd lost everyone in my life - my Mum had been a drunk and died. My father was rapist who I'd never known. My brother was just as much of a screw up and a criminal. Elliot was all I had, and if I lost him, I'd... I don't know. I just couldn't.

Suddenly a thought came to me. Even though I wasn't religious, Elliot was. He put his faith and his trust in God, despite all that he saw every day, despite everything that went on in his life, so maybe I should take a chance and do something I'd never really done properly. I decided to pray. I felt that I should at least try to help him. It had been my job to keep him safe, after all we were partners, and I had failed. I guessed that if I did lose him, maybe it was God's way of punishing me for it.

I looked around the room, searching until my eyes finally came to rest on it. A small, black Bible. Walking over, I pick it up and open it up. Although I'd never really taken the time to study it, the words seem familiar. I flip through the book, my fingertips running over the thing pages until some words finally come to my mind. I don't think about what to say, I just let the words run out of my mouth and hope that they make sense... that they get through and help Elliot.

"Please, God," I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I know I might not have been a perfect Christian, and I know that I've never really taken the time to talk to you before, but I've never needed you as much as I need you right now. Well... I guess that it isn't me that needs you. I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for him. Actually, no, I'm going to be true. I am doing this for him, but it's for me too. He's my only one. He's my best friend, and I love him so so much. You've taken a lot of people from me.Please... don't take him, too." The memory of the weight of him in me arms, the look in his eyes... it was all starting to overwhelm me, and the hot, wet tears began cascading uncontrollably down my face, dripping onto the Bible. "I can't lose him. Please, I need him so much."

I don't know how long I sat there, but when I finally came out of my own little world, it was dark outside. I closed the bible and set it gently down on the table where it belonged. Walking over to the table lamp, I switch it on and let out another long, shaky sigh, sliding back down onto the couch.

For six more hours I sat there, waiting nervously. Still Kathy didn't show up. Still no-one else turned up. I was starting to wonder if anything had actually happened. My nails were gradually being bitten down, the carpet was gradually being worn away and my stomach was gradually knotting itself up so tight that I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to unknot it.

Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, and I looked up to see a tall, older man standing in the doorway. He had fluffy. light grey hair, soft lines on his face, and kind, sympatheric blue eyes. His long white coat flapped at the back as he walked inside, holding a clipboard in his hands.

"Are you here for Elliot Stabler?" he asked sympathetically.

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Yes, I am," I confirmed hoarsely. I just wondered where the hell Kathy was. Fair enough she and Elliot weren't together anymore, but surely you'd still rush to your ex-husband's side if he'd been seriously injured? Well.. I knew that I would have done anyway.

He nodded. "I'm Doctor MacAfferty."

"How is he?" I asked quickly, desperate to find out if my partner was okay, if he was going to survive, if I was going to get the chance to suggest those talks I had thought about.

"It was really rough for a while," Dr. MacAfferty said softly, his voice soothing me slightly. Something about him reminded me of Elliot, and that calmed me. "He's still out, but he should be just fine. The odds are in his favour."

My legs felt weak as relief spread through me. The knots in my stomach loosened, and my heart rate slowed down. I felt better. Now all I wanted to do was to see him, to take him in my arms, to listen to him breathing, to see that he was alright. I just wanted to be near Elliot. My Elliot.

There was just one thing that kept flying through my mind. He's going to be okay... He's going to be okay... It was much better than what I had been thinking and feeling for most of the day.

"He's in Recovery right now. You can see him if you want." He turned and waited for me to follow him.

I took a step after him, but when I reached the door, something made me turn around. The black Bible is sitting on the table just where I left it. A small smile appeared on my face as I gazed at it. Maybe the whole religion thing wasn't such a bad idea. There was something in the back of my mind that told me that he had had something to do with this.I turn around again and follow the doctor out of the waiting room, unable to keep the smile off of my face, only one thing on my mind.

_Thank you, God.

* * *

_My hands began to tremble as I stood in the door to Elliot's room. It had been a week since the incident had happened. Cragen, bless his soul, had told me to take as much time off as I needed. I guess there were just some things that were obvious. I didn't want to acknowledge that people knew how I felt about Elliot, but somewhere right in the back of mind there was a little voice that told that of course they did. It was obvious. I cared just that little bit too much for a partner. But it was alright. I think that the Captain saw it but didn't mind it as long as it didn't interfere with the job.

For that whole week, I had visited Elliot every single day, and I still hadn't seen Kathy or the kids. That made me so mad. I didn't understand how she could just leave him in hospital. As far as she knew he was on his own, fighting for his life, with nobody there with him to speak to him and tell him everything was going to be alright. But then maybe she knew it too. Maybe she knew that I cared way too much to leave him alone. Cared way too much to let him suffer on his own. I guess she had been right in some ways when she said that I had jeopardised their marriage. If what Elliot had told me was true, and he did love me, then maybe, just maybe, that had been a tiny contributing factor to the breakdown of their marriage. I just hoped I wasn't right.

I had been begging him every time I came into this room to open his beautiful eyes and speak to me, to tell me what was going on in his mind, to let me know that he was okay and that there would be no lasting damage to the man I had grown to love over the course of so many years. I just hoped that there wouldn't be. I hoped that the sense of humour would still be there, the strength, the kindness... everything I loved would still be there. There just had been no results as of yet.

Suddenly a soft groan seemed to fill the room. I gasped, shaking myself out of my thoughts and almost ran over to his bedside. I reached out my hand and took one of his in it, resting my other palm on his forehead. "Ssshhh." I whispered soothingly, hating that he might have been in any pain. He had already been through so much. My hand absent-mindedly stroked his short hair. "It's going to be alright Elliot."

He opened his eyes and I caught a flash of blue before he blinked, opening them again, this time clearer and sharper.

"Hey," I smiled slightly, squeezing his hand. "You're going to be fine. Just fine Ell. Don't worry."

At the confused look in his eye, I brought my hand down and caressed his cheek, keeping my gaze locked with his. "Liv?" His voice was croaky and weak, but it was still him, and it filled my heart with joy, a sudden warmth rushing over my body.

Tears threatened to spill over, but I took a deep breath, holding them back. I had told myself the first time I went to see him that when he opened his eyes, when he first saw me, I wouldn't cry. I didn't want to show that I had been terrified of losing him. I didn't want to panic him and make him worry that something bad was going to happen to him, because I knew it wasn't.

"Right here hon," I smiled, squeezing his hand again. He squeezed mine back weakly, and I leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss to his forehead, leaning back up and looking right back into his eyes. He was still watching me intently. Now that I had heard his voice and seen those gorgeous deep blue eyes, I was sure that he was going to be alright. I was sure of it.

He again tried to squeeze my hand, as if he was afraid that I was going to leave him, as if he let go I would have disappeared. He didn't know that I wasn't, but my god, to me? That was such a silly thing to think. Of course I would never leave him. Not after everything that happened in the past week. I wasn't going to leave until he could go with me.

"I'm not leaving Elliot." I whispered to him in an attempt to soothe his fears. His lips turned up in a small smile, which also made me do the same. That had always been the case. Whenever he smiled, I would smile too. I just couldn't help it. It was a natural reaction. I touched my fingertips to his lips and whisper, "Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up sweetheart."

"P...promise?" he asked weakly, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I swear," I nodded again firmly "Just sleep. You need it after all you've been through."

He heaved a deep sigh, and he gazed at me for another few minutes. Eventually I smiled at him and brought my hand over his eyes. When I removed it, his eyes had shut, and his chest had begun to move up and down slowly and smoothly. I let out a sigh of relief. He was okay. Elliot was alright. My partner, my best friend... the man I loved. He was okay.

I turned his hand in my lap and caressed his palm, smiling contently when his hand closed around mine. Even in his sleep, he knew that I was there, and I can't even explain how good that made me feel. He knew that I was there for him, that I wasn't leaving any time soon. This was the first time I'd ever held his hand with him actually knowing it, and that also made me smile. Our hands fitted together so perfectly. I just didn't understand how we'd never realised how perfect we were for each other before now, or why we hadn't admitted it until Elliot was bleeding out of a bullet wound to his chest.

I brought his hand up to my mouth and very gently kissed his knuckles. I stood there and gazed at him for another few moments. Now that I was done fretting over his life, I could consider him as a man... I could allow my attraction to him to resurface. I couldn't believe how good he looked asleep. He got this look of peacefulness, which made me smile. I knew somewhere in the bakc of my mind that I'd be seeing this face a lot more after he was released from hospital.

I reluctantly turned and pulled the chair which sat next to the bed closer, letting myself slide down into it. I had sat in it many a time over the last week, but up until that moment I hadn't ever sat in it and felt at ease with the world, as if everything was going to turn our alright. I again focused on Elliot. He was still pale, and until was fully better, I knew that it would be a constant reminded of how close to losing him I came. I leant over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, smiling as he stirred slightly and turned his head in my direction.

As I sat there, I thought of how I had prayed to God when things had been uncertain. I took a moment before saying softly, "Dear God, thank you so much for saving him. By saving him you saved me, and for that I can only agree that you are wonderful. I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving this man. I love him with everything I have, and I just pray that we'll never come this close to losing each other ever again. Thank you."

I smiled as I opened my eyes again to be met with the sight of Elliot Stabler fast asleep in front of me. My hand was still holding his as I settled in the chair. I hadn't slept much in the past week, and my absolute exhaustion was catching up on me now that I didn't have to worry whether my man would live or not. I couldn't help but think as I watched him that sometimes I didn't deserve him. I knew I could be a complete bitch cometimes, but then he could be a complete ass at times too, so I supposed we were even.

I chuckled softly. Things were already starting to return to normal - I was remembering all of the times he had been an ass as well as all the times he's been a complete saviour. I let out a yawn, but this time, instead of fighting it, I just pulled my chair closer to thebed and laid my head on the good side of his chest. I draped my arm around his waist, smiling as I can hear his steady heartbeat. I would also be able to tell if he woke, so that I could comfort him. I closed my eyes, not worrying about a thing. I knew he was going to be alright, and I wasn't leaving his side.

"I love you Elliot," I whispered, stroking his arm. "I really do love you."

And with that, I fell asleep. I didn't mind that he didn't respond. There would be plenty of time to tell him again that I loved him. And there would be plenty of time to hear him say it back to me. Again, I thanked God for making that possible as I slid into my far away dreams._

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_So I hope this chapter was reasonably good. Well. I'm sure you'll tell me what you think, yes? 

GrissomzGal


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